


Honor Among Theives

by Tiptapricot



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily, Camping, Dorks, Gen, Sibling Bonding, Siblings being idiots, batfam, tag in the woods, tag taken very seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22098616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiptapricot/pseuds/Tiptapricot
Summary: Dick takes his siblings on a camping trip and they play a rousing game of tag.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 142





	Honor Among Theives

**Author's Note:**

> Request from Tumblr: May I request something fluffy with the Batfam, like a fun trip or something? Maybe Cass Cain as the main character bc she don’t get much love

Cass had never been camping before. There were times when she’d been forced to survive in the wilderness, times she didn’t like to dwell on, but those had never been  _ fun. _ This, camping,  _ real _ camping, was wonderful.

Dick had wanted to take everyone on a road trip to celebrate the beginning of summer break. Sibling bonding, he had called it. After a bit of heckling Bruce had agreed, and the following week everyone had piled into the car and waved goodbye. 

The ride up to the campsite had been less chaotic than Cass had expected. After a short scuffle between Steph and Damian the car had made an agreement to rotate the AUX cord every two songs, but that had been the only real argument the whole ride. The windows had been rolled down and Cass had smiled as the highway flew by. She hadn’t had much time alone with her siblings, and it was almost refreshing to be away from Bruce for once.

Dick had been driving, Jason in the passenger’s seat, and the two of them had talked for most of the drive. It was the first time Cass had seen the two of them so relaxed. Their conversation had been light and familiar, that of two old friends sitting down for a chat.

They had rolled into the campground at sunset, and the ensuing scramble to get the tents up before the light faded had resulted in more than a few bruises. It didn’t matter though. In the end they had all collapsed in a heap on the dusty ground and laughed. Duke had helped get a fire started and they had spent the rest of the night roasting marshmallows and eating snacks that probably didn’t count as actual dinner.

Cass crouched lower in the bush, breathing slow. She couldn’t hear anyone, but in this family that hardly meant anything. After taking one last look around she crawled quickly across the hiking trail, hoisting herself up into the branches of one of the trees. She climbed until she was well hidden among the leaves, in just the right spot to spy on the ground below.

It had started out innocent enough. They had just finished breakfast and Jason had suggested they play a game to get their blood pumping. Hide and seek seemed too hard with all the trees, and Babs wasn’t interested in playing at all, so they couldn’t divide up evenly to play a team sport. After a short debate everyone had agreed on tag, and really, it was the only game left that wouldn’t end with someone’s eye out. Well... most likely at least. There was a quick round of nose goes, pinning Dick as It, and then they were off, sprinting through the trees.

Cass had split from the group early on, running into the denser area of forest that bordered the hiking trail. She supposed she’d turned it into hide and seek after all, but it was working, and that was all that mattered. 

She had narrowly avoided a run in with Jason, sliding under the cover of a fern patch as he ran by, only to hear a scream of surprise when he turned the corner. Other than that, she hadn’t seen anyone. She wasn’t sure who was It currently, but it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her.

Cass shrank back into the leaves when she heard footsteps below. A moment later Duke and Damian stumbled onto the trail, panting heavily.

“Holy shit, how is she so fast?” Duke asked, glancing behind them.

“Stephanie has a competitive drive, do not underestimate her in a situation like this.” Damian said sternly, chest heaving.

“Yeah I picked up on that.” Duke leaned back against Cass’ tree, catching his breath. She made sure not to move a muscle, watching them intently.

“Do you think we lost her?” Duke asked.

Damian looked back into the trees, craning his neck.

“Not sure. It would probably be wise to keep moving.”

“Agreed.”

They continued running further up the trail, their footsteps slowly retreating. When Cass was sure they were gone she swung her legs over the branch and leaned back. 

So Steph was It, that was good to know. Now she could be sure to avoid her. Steph was a formidable opponent, especially when she was properly motivated. She was faster than Cass, though not quite as strong. If worse came to worse Cass could probably escape her by climbing another tree. Though it would do her no good if Steph followed, the trees were too dense with foliage to jump safely between them. 

Cass pushed herself up and peeked through the branches, making sure the coast was clear before dropping to the ground. Damian was right, it would do no good to stay in one place. Cass took one last look behind her before taking off down the trail.

The camping area itself was beautiful. It was bordered on one side by a lake so clear you could see to the bottom, and on the other by a large mountain. They had made plans to hike up to a meadow later that day, but for now that didn’t matter.

Cass heard a shout echo through the trees to her left and skidded to a halt, changing directions to run into the woods, sliding down a small hill. She reached the bottom and continued through the undergrowth, pushing off of fallen tree trunks. She passed a mushroom patch and skirted around a thicket before she burst into a clearing, shaking the leaves out of her hair.

When she looked up Cass froze. Steph was standing on the other side of the clearing, an elated expression on her face.

“Finally! I’ve been looking for someone else for like ten minutes!” She yelled, jogging across the field.

Cass turned and sprinted back into the woods, ignoring Steph’s shouts of protest. Over the logs, back up the hill, she could hear the footsteps pounding behind her. 

“Cass, come on!” Steph called.

“You aren’t catching me tod—umph!” She slammed into someone else just as she reached the trail, careening backwards into the dirt.

“Holy crap Cass, are you alright?” Tim’s face appeared above her, eyes wide. 

“Fine.” She mumbled, trying to get her breath back. Tim helped her up, brushing the dirt and leaves from her shirt.

“You sure you’re alright?”

“No time, Steph’s right behind me, come on.” She said, grabbing Tim’s arm.

“A little too late for a retreat.” He said, pointing over her shoulder. Cass whirled around, her whole body poised to run. Steph had just emerged from the woods, her brows knitted in confusion.

“Why did you run?” She asked.

“You’re It.” Cass said, fingers tightening on Tim’s wrist. If they didn’t move soon Steph was going to get one of them for sure.

“What do you mean? I tagged Jason way before I saw you.”

“Than who’s It?” Cass asked.

“Uh,” Tim tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and when she turned around he was grinning like an idiot, “tag.”

Cass stood still for a moment, her eyes wide. Tim had betrayed her. 

“Oh you bastard.” She hissed. His grin widened. No… wait. What had she learned? Change every situation into an advantage. Tim had  _ tagged _ her, and now everyone else would be scared of  _ her _ . A smile crept its way onto Cass’ face. This was going to be much more fun.

“No tag backs?” She asked.

“Yep, you can’t touch me.” As soon as the words left Tim’s mouth his smile faded. He looked at Cass, then down at the hand still resting on her shoulder. He paled as the realization dawned on him, an expression of absolute horror washing over his face.

“Oh shit,” he whispered, “what have I unleashed?”

Steph was gone before she turned around.

***

Duke stumbled down the hill, heart beating loud in his ears as he thundered through the grass. He could hear her.  _ He could hear her. _ He rounded another tree stump and put on a burst of speed, emerging back at their campsite.

“Oh hey, game over?” Barbara was sitting in her wheelchair, a thermos in one hand and a book propped open in the other.

“Not… exactly.” Duke glanced up at the canopy, scanning the branches.

“You look terrified, are you alri—”

A shrill scream echoed through the trees, followed closely by thundering footsteps. Jason burst through a bush, scrambling away from the woods with a fierce desperation.

“Dude did she follow you?” Duke asked, panicked.

“Don’t know,” he was breathless, panting, “She just jumped out of nowhere, thought I was going to have a fucking heart attack.” He said, grabbing Duke and yanking him towards the car. “We should be fine here right? No cover, no bushes, she can’t hide, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Do you think she got one of the others by now?” Duke asked, crouching next to one of the tires.

“Dunno. Hope so. I swear I’m gonna kill whoever tagged her, I mean holy  _ shit.” _

“Cass?” Barbara called over.

“Yeah.”

She snorted. “Good luck.”

There was a crack from somewhere nearby and Duke tensed.

“Did you hear that?” He asked.

“Yeah shut up I’m trying to listen.” Jason swatted him hurriedly, scanning the tree line.

There was another crack, closer this time, and Jason pressed both of them against the car.

“Oh dude we are so dead.” Duke whispered.

“I know I know shhhh!”

They waited in tense silence, straining their ears for any noise, any sign. One second. Two. Duke didn’t dare to breath. Twenty seconds. Thirty. Jason held a finger to his lips, slowly moving to look around the car. Forty seconds. Fifty. Sixty. Duke felt like he was going to explode. 

Finally,  _ finally, _ Jason relaxed, head lolling back against the car door.

“I think she’s gone.” He said, relief clear in his voice.

Duke let out a long breath, huffing. He took a moment to recover, his heart feeling like it was beating a million miles an hour, before he glanced up at the woods.

“Should we go back in?” He asked.

“Oh hell no. I wanted some exercise, not to be in some—some,” Jason waved his hand dismissively, “some goddamn horror movie.”

Duke chuckled. “That is what it feels like huh?”

“Yeah, remind me never to cross Cass when she’s in a mood. Jesus  _ Christ.” _

They both laughed, the tension slowly melting away. Honestly, Duke wasn’t even sure why they were so scared in the first place, now that it was over. It was just tag. A leaf landed softly in his lap. It was a game, and it wasn’t like Cass was more or less scary than the others. Another leaf landed in Duke’s lap. They had just gotten freaked out for no reason, there was nothing to be—

Duke froze. He looked at the leaves in his lap, quietly nudging Jason.

“Dude…” he muttered, voice lower than a hush.

“What’s up?”

Duke pointed to the leaves and Jason’s smile dropped, his face paling. 

“But then she would be…” Slowly, carefully, they both looked up.

Cass descended upon them in the next second, and the campground erupted in screams.


End file.
